Uni unrest probe ‘halfway’

By Alphonse Porau Deputy Commissioner Jim Andrews says police investigation into University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) unrest is only halfway. He told The National this week that part of the investigation was done and would be completed when the university had a break. “Police and the Ombudsmen Commission are doing investigations, but on our side it is 50 per cent complete,” Andrews said. “The remaining will come from the university as soon as they complete their semesters and move out of the campus.” Andrews said that according to reports from the investigations on the shooting of students, there was no strong evidence, death or bullets wounds. He said reports from the chief executive officer of the hospital proved to the police that injuries were just minor sustained from pushing and shoving during the dispersing of the crowd. “The student sustained cuts from the fences or nearby objects when they were dispatched by police during the protest and blamed it on us,” Andrews said. “But there were no reports of deaths or any form of bullets wounds from the impact of the M16 as the people were referring to,” Andrews said. He said police were waiting to investigate on the properties that were damaged and to find out on the people involved. “We still need to complete our investigation on the properties that were damaged in the campus,” Andrews said. He said damage involved the burning of the printing press, the dormitory, vehicles and fight with the university security.